Refrigerator display counter



a Jan. 12, 1932. R STARR REFRIGERATOR DISPLAY COUNTER Filed March 15, 1930 will f IN VEN TOR AVTZ'ORNE Y gratented Jan. 12, 1932 antral) STATES.

MYEQND H. STARE, OF NORTH KANSAS cm,

REFRIGERATOR DISPLAY COUNTER Application filed Hatch E5, 1930. Serial No. 486,024.

My invention relates to refrigerator cases and more particularly to devices of that char. acter adapted for the display of foods, flowers, dairy products, Perishables, or the like in refrigerated chambers. ()ne type of cases of this character consists of display counters having sections or chambers in which meats are arranged, and refrigerating means such as coils in said chambers, the sides of the w counters exposed to the public having transation of the chambers, causing increase 0 parent windows and'the opposite sides being provided with doors for access to the chemers.

Frost tends to accumulate on the coils and the frosting is aggrevated due to admission of moisture and moist air to the case consequent on the opening of the service door, the frosting tending to reduce the efiiciency of the coil as a refrigerating agent.

Methods of defrosting coils have heretofore involved the raising of the temperature of the coils by suspending refrigeration, or applying heat to the coils, to melt ice thereon, thus temporarily suspending refrigertemperature of air around the foods, and involving additional expenditure of the refrigerating medium for'reducing the temperature of the coil and the display space to the normal refrigerating level.

The maintenance of a refrigerating display chamber at a temperature constantly below freezing was not of particular importance when perishables were stored there in for display and did not require to be kept at a temperature constantly below freezing over a re atively long period.

lfhere has recently developed, however, the practice of reducing meats to cuts upon initial slaughter, freezing the cuts. supplying the frozen cuts to the retail distributor whereby theretail distributor is required to maintain the cuts below freezing until delivered to a customer.

The hazard of permitting a cut to thaw when contained in a display case, due to the rise in temperature consequent on warming a coil to defrost the same must now be considered.

In view of the conditions above set forth,

of the invention, 1 have provided improved 1 details of structure, the preferred forms of .7

and particularly the conditions under which meat is marketed, my invention has for its principal objects to assure maintenance of meat at a desired low temperature in a display case, to facilitate defrosting of a coil in a display counter or the like, to efiect defrosting without altering appreciably the temperature of the space in which the perishables are displayed, to defrost coils without changing the temperature in a refrigerating chamber served by the coil, and to prevent serious contact of inlet air with refrigerated products when a refrigerating chamber is opened for therefrom, and to facilitate the dehydration of all moist air entering the refri crating chamber through the service doors y passmg freshly admitted air over the refriger atlon coil before it strikes the refrigerated products, whereby coils ma be defrosted without incurring danger of eleteriously increasing the temperature of the products.

In accomplishing these and other objects which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a display counter having a refrigerating coil and equipped according to my invention for defrosting the coil.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the counter from front to back through a door and display window, a top door being shown closed.

Fig. 3 is a similar view illustrating'the top door opening and a tray lifted to close the opening for defrosting the coil.

.Refgrring in detail to the drawings:

1 designates a display counter including a base portion 2 and an inclined front upper wall portion 3 provided with openings 4 having transparent windows 5, an upper inwardly inclined rear wall portion 6 provided with a hinged door 7 for access to the chamber forming the interior of top wall 8 having longitudinal openings 9 normally closed by doors 10 having hinges 11 mounted on the top wall. The walls andthe counter, and a removal of refrigerated products doors have substantial thickness and preferably contain insulating material, the doors having beveled edges fitting into beveled seats in the openings to assure retention of rea similar horizontal shoulder or ledge 12 atthe upper end of the front wall having a relatively wide lower face 14 for a purpose presently disclosed. Similar shoulders are provided at the ends of the top opening.

A refrigerating coil 15 supplied with a refrigerant from a suitable source is located on the longitudinal axis of the top opening beneath the same, and in laterally spaced relation with the front and back edges of the opening, whereby the coil when supplied with refrigerant will cool air in or admitted to the chamber and the cooled air will tend to move downwardly throughout the charm ber to cool food contained therein.

Fixed to the walls 3 and 6 and extending downwardly in the chamber are brackets comprising vertical leg members 16 and 17 spaced outwardly from the coil and supporting cross members 18 connected to the lower ends of the vertical members. -A tray or pan 1%) having a vertically elongated rear wall 20, a low front wall 21 and end walls 22, is supported by the brackets in receiving relation with the coil whereby liquid dripping from the coil under conditions presently described will be caught by the pan and may be conducted away therefrom through an outlet port 23, and a flexible tube 24 leading into an air trap 25, and whereby circulation of cold air is provided, the colder air descending in the front of the counter and warmer air rising in the rear.

The inner vertical face of the bracket leg 17 is located in registr with the inner edge face of the rear wall ange 13, and the legs extend substantially to the lower horizontal edge of the rear wall door opening whereby the rear wall of the pan will be located between the door and the coil, and when the pan is elevated the rear wall thereof may pass through the top opening.

lhe upper edge of the rear wall 20 extends adjacent the top of the coil, and preferably slightly above the same, when the pan is suported by the brackets to afford a passage tween said edge and the walls of the case to the top of the coil, and the lower edge of said pan wall preferably extends at or below the upper level of the lower third of the side door to form a bafie and assure movement of relatively warm inlet air over the wall'20 to the coil.

The rear and front walls of the pan are spaced a distance substantially equal to the width of the top opening of the counter whereby the upper edge of the front wall of the pan will engage the wide lower face 1 1- of the flange of the front wall of the counter upon elevation of the pan to limit upward. movement of the pan and sealingly engage the upper edg of said pan wall with the top of the counter. The end walls of the pan are preferably the same height as the front wall thereof, and the rear wall is slightly reduced in length above the end walls, whereby the upper edges of the end walls may engage the shoulders at the ends of the top opening to further seal the opening.

A lug 26 formed on the rear face of the rear wall of the pan is adapted to engage the upper face of the rear wall flange for supporting the pan in elevated position as indicated in Fig. 3.

The pan elevated in the manner described will thus seal the top opening of the counter and afford access to the coil while preventing access of outside air to the refrigerating portion of the chamber.

The pan is provided with a handle for lifting the same through the opening when the door is opened to locate the lug on the flange.

The coil may be defrosted by any of the known methods including permitting the heat of the room to raise the tempera ure thereof slowly, circulating warm fluid through the coil, and employing mechanical means, and i prefer to apply a chemical agent such as brine to flow over the surfaces of the coil to iiquefy the ice and frost thereon, the liquid and moisture resulting from melting of the ice blowing from the coil to the pan and being drained therefrom from the outlet conduit. The coil may be exposed a relatively short period for distributing the defrosting agent thereover, thus limiting the warming effect on the coil due to exposure.

l'lelativelyslight interruption of complete refrigerating efiect is involved in the process of applying the defrosting agent and no opportunity is afiorded for warm air to rush into the refrigerating chamber.

In using the apparatus, air cooled by the coil tends to displace air in the pan and flow over the lower edge of the pan to the lower portion of thechamber, warmer air displaced from the chamber rising over the back wall thereof and passing over the high wall of the pan directly into contact with the coil.

When the door in the back wall of the counter is open for access to meat stored in the chamber, warm air will be restricted to upward movement between the rear wall of the pan and the rear wall of the counter toward the coil, thus requiring inlet air to contact the back wall of the pan and retaining said inlet air away from the front portion of'the pan and the path of cooled air moving toward the storageportion of the chaniben. w

llli

When the coil is to be defrosted, the top door may be opened, the pan lifted and lodged by means of the lug, the defrosting egent applied, the pan restored to normal position, and the top door closed.

What i claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. in a refrigerator display counter including a case and e refrigerating coil located in the case, e pen vertically movebly mounted in the case below the coil and having portions engegeable with the case to isolete the coil from the interior of the case,

2. in a refrigerator including e cabinet end it source of refri,,eretion normally in communication with t 1e interior or the cabinet, e

beiile movable to isolate said source of refrigoration from c portion of said interior of the cabinet.

3. in a refrigerator including a cabinet having e chamber including a food-containing chamber portion, end, a sonrce oi reirigoration in said cabinet normally in communicetion with said "food-containing portion, a befie mounted in the cabinet and movable to isolate said source of refrigeretion from said food-containing portion of the chamber.

in combination with e refrigerator display counter haying walls forming a display chamber, and e refrigernizing coil located in "he chamber adjacent the upper portion hereof, o. pen movably mounted the er below the coil and having portions en- ;cgeeble with one of said wells upon moveent-of the In combination with case having e top 0; ening, end a coil located he ow top opening, a pen men In. veble vertically to combination door in one side and e on and a coil located below the top opei movably mounted below the col re eceive nioistnre dropping therefrom, inc 1 ing between the coil and t adopted to be moved upwardly into the top op- 7. in combination with a case heving e leterel opening and a top opening, and e coil located in the case adjacent the top opening, e pen vertically movably mounted in the case to receive moisture dripping "from the coil including a, relatively high vertical well extending between the leterel opening and the coil and an opposite well engegeeble with the case to limit verticsll movement of the pen.

8 In combination with e case having 1 latorally directed opening and a, top opening and a coil located in the case adjacent the top opening, a, pen in the case below the coil movable upwardly to close said top opening, including a relatively high vertical wall extending between the laterally directed opening and'the coil and an oppositely. relatively 113E111? having e low wall engageable with the case to limit upward movement of said pan.

9. In combination with a, case having a leterelly directed opening and a top opening, and a coil located in the case adjacent the top opening, a. bracket mounted in the case, a pan normally supported by the bracket below the coilto receive moisture dripping from the coil, including a relatively highverticel well extending between the laterally directed opening and the coil to direct air entering said opening upwardl to flow over said well to the co1l,sa1d pan eing movable upwardly to locete seid high wall in the top opening, end havin an opposite relatively low Well engegeeble with the case to limit upward movement of the an and close seid top opening.

10. lln com ination with e case having an openin end'refrigerating means in the case accessi le through said opening, a movable bafie in the case on the opposite side 01" said means from the opening having portions engegeeble with the case to close the openin ll. lln combination with a case having an opening, refri crating means in the case eccessible throng the opening, and means movable in seid opening for isolating the refrigersiting means from the case.

12. In apparatus of the character described, a case having an opening, a door to close the opening, refrigerating means in the case adjacent the opening and normally communieatingv with the interior of the case, e, movable baffle including a portion able with the case the opening to isolate the refrig rating means from the interior of the once. 

